GOP pair ask other hopeful Republicans to quit their races
A pair of GOP hopefuls showed up in Burlingame on Thursday to stress the need for California Republicans to unify if they want to win in the June 5 primary.
But for John Cox, a candidate for governor, and Steven Bailey, who is running for attorney general, “unity” means their GOP rivals should wave a white flag, drop out and endorse them. Spoiler alert: It’s not going to happen. “Our campaign and our supporters have reached out to (Orange County Assemblyman Travis Allen), and he has rejected any effort” to leave the governor’s race, Cox said at an event in the offices of the San Mateo County Republican Party.
He said Allen has to realize that “all he can do is keep me out of the top two in November.”
Allen says he’s the one with the best chance of finishing first or second and thus advancing to the general election, even though “the party elites” want him out.
After President Trump endorsed Cox last week, Allen tweeted, “The political establishment misinforming @realDonaldTrump is now actually scared of a TRUE CONSERVATIVE
GOVERNOR in California. There is ONLY ONE Californian that can beat @GavinNewsom and the CA Democrats.”
Bailey was more circumspect than Cox, saying he’s not going to tell his fellow Republican Eric Early, a Los Angeles attorney who is also running for attorney general, what to do. But the message was the same.
“I’m asking Republican voters to coalesce behind who is in the top two in the polls right now,” he said.
And that would be Cox and Bailey, though some pollsters may differ.
This is a big deal for Republicans. While Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and appointed Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra are widely seen as the front-runners, the battles for second place — and spots on the Nov. 6 ballot — are wide open.
Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa in the governor’s race and Dave Jones in the attorney general’s contest are better known and better funded than any of the GOP candidates. A rift among Republicans could split the conservative vote and make the fall election an all-Democrats affair.
That would have consequences for Republicans beyond the state races. Several competitive congressional seats are in California, and GOP turnout in the fall could be depressed without Republican candidates in marquee contests such as the governor’s race. That means that if California Republicans stay home, GOP control of the House could be in jeopardy.
About two dozen supporters and party officials joined the GOP candidates in the tiny party office Thursday, standing in front of banners reading, “Support President Trump’s Choice/John Cox for Governor,” and, “Don’t Let Democrats Steal Your Vote/Republican Unity 2018.”
“Liberal Democratic billionaires are trying every trick in the book” to keep Republicans out of the general election, Cox said.
The San Diego County businessman is enlisting well-known Republicans and GOP-leaning groups to put pressure on Allen to drop out and to pull his supporters to Cox.
This week, for example, Sal Russo, a top figure in the Tea Party movement, was heard on robocalls to GOP households, telling them that Cox was the only Republican who could win in November.
On Wednesday, Harmeet Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney who is a member of the Republican National Committee, called on Allen to support Cox and “drop out.”
“Since it is not numerically possible for Travis to make it into the top two — something that we Republicans really need for the down-ballot — it’s time for all Republicans to support the Republican front-runner, including Travis Allen,” Dhillon wrote in a Facebook post. “He can be a spoiler, or he can be a gracious future candidate and a hero. #Unite.”